Friday, 29 June 2012

Gay Marriage - the Perth Interview

As we all know, the topic of gay marriage has been all the rage for quite some time now, not just in Australia but around the world. On 18 June 2012, I was called by ABC radio 720 Perth to do an interview with their Drive time presenter Russell Woolf about this topic. Russell and I had talked extensively earlier in the year about the book and I had found him interested, interesting, well-informed and very willing to discuss the myriad issues brought up by a book like Being Gay Being Christian. Of course, I jumped at the chance of a second interview and was very happy to discuss the topic of gay marriage with him even though I had not very much time to collect my thoughts or to prepare.

At the conclusion of the interview, Russell's producer came back on the line and told me that the phones had lit up and that texts were coming in thick and fast in support of what I was saying. She told me that it was one of the best responses to a story they had had. Isn't it great to know you're not alone! :)

Below is the audio of the interview. I hope you enjoy it.

Russell Woolf
Drive Presenter ABC Radio 720 Perth

Deal With it Bishops

On the weekend of 17 June, the hierarchies of the church in Sydney, namely the Catholic, Anglican and Greek Orthodox bishops, decided to have read a 'pastoral' letter in their respective churches about the vexed topic of gay marriage. This was obviously done in response to the strong support for marriage equality that the people of Australia have offered, despite the recalcitrance of our political leaders. However, congregants were trapped as they had to sit there and listen to clerics denigrating the lives and relationships of gay people with out-dated theology, poor science and a naivete around LGBT people and issues. People had no right of reply or any chance to offer an alternate view in the church-service scenario. It was a top-down, heavy-handed approach by the conservative church telling people how to think and how to behave, encouraging them to lobby politicians to oppose marriage equality should a bill come before the Parliament.

I was not a happy camper with this state of affairs as these same clerics took to the airwaves and to the print media over the following days to sell their dinosaur position.

That weekend, I decided to write a reply to my local newspaper, the Newcastle Herald. I wrote it quickly and sent it in under the title, 'A Response To The Bishops.' The opinion piece was duly accepted and they published it on the following Wednesday under the title, 'I am gay and Christian: deal with it, bishops,' which made me sound like a petulant child or an outraged adolescent. Even though the title is nothing like the tenor of the piece itself, I am glad they published it and I understand that many people read it.